Part 4 of 4

Spinner

A woman trapped in an abusive relationship during lockdown investigates a malevolent supernatural force in her basement.

Continued from Parts One, Two, and Three.

Not wanting to linger in the woods in view of what she’d just gleaned, Isabel rushed home. Her mind kept running in different directions, and she worried about what might happen to Maud Spinner. It sounded as though she had defended herself, all those years ago, but would the police see it that way? As Maud said, the law probably wouldn’t be on her side, especially as she had hidden the truth for so long. Isabel wanted to keep the police out of things, if possible, but she doubted it would be possible if a corpse had been buried in the wall of their home. Tyler would probably insist on calling the police right away.

Upon arriving back at her house, Isabel rushed upstairs to Tyler, expecting him to still be working. The study door was closed, but she burst in without knocking as she usually would, in view of the importance of what she had to tell him.

Isabel halted in her tracks.

Tyler sat in front of a computer monitor, but he wasn’t working. He was watching a naked cam girl on a pornographic website, and she was talking to him, moaning his name.

‘Tyler… Oh, Tyler, I want you so much…’

‘Whoa!’ Tyler said, catching sight of Isabel. ‘Sorry need to go…’

Snapping the laptop shut, Tyler stared at Isabel. For a moment he looked like a rabbit in headlights before his face hardened into an unapologetic stare.

Isabel felt stung at the full implications of what she’d just witnessed.

‘Tyler… What are you doing?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ said Tyler. ‘I’m having my needs met elsewhere because you’re so lazy and inadequate at fulfilling them.’

Isabel gasped at the pain of his words, tears filling her eyes.

‘But Tyler… Only last night we…’

‘Last night was no fun at all, not really. It was all very dutiful of you, but sometimes Isabel… Well, you’re just a bit dull. You don’t really like to be experimental or stimulating.’

‘You never said anything! You didn’t tell me! I just assumed…’ Anger hit Isabel. ‘But that’s no excuse! You’re being unfaithful to me!’

‘Don’t be an idiot Isabel. I’m not screwing her.’

‘But you’re having… cam-sex with her!’

‘It’s a harmless outlet. Doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It just means… I’m having legitimate needs met where you can’t meet them.’

‘Dammit Tyler, that’s not fair!’

‘Not fair? You burst in here, without knocking. You don’t respect my privacy. Well, if you’re determined to behave so rudely, you can expect to burst in on painful truths you might not want to confront.’

‘If you’re unhappy with our sex life, we should talk about it! This is a betrayal of trust.’

Tyler got up and stepped towards Isabel. Instinctively, she backed away at the menacing sudden movement, but before she could get clear, a stinging blow landed on her cheek. She gasped in pain, but then a second blow fell. She fell to her knees, crying.

‘You need to get your head on straight Isabel. If I was physically having sex with her it would be different, but this is not being unfaithful. This is my own private outlet, and nothing to do with you. I wouldn’t need it if you were a bit more exciting and… well, now you know, so you can work on that aspect of yourself. You should be thanking me.’

Isabel stared up at Tyler through her tears.

‘I hate you so much right now. You’re dishonest. You lie. How can you say you love me?’

‘If we’re talking about dishonesty, what about you? Where have you been?’

To her surprise, Tyler yanked Isabel roughly to her feet, thrusting a hand into her coat pocket and pulling out her phone.

‘No Tyler! That’s private!’

‘Private? Like what I was doing when you burst in just now?’

Tyler continued to look through Isabel’s phone. She felt dismayed that she hadn’t changed her password to one he didn’t know, but at least this way he’d find out soon enough what she had planned to tell him about why they needed to move out — even though she now felt a lot less inclined to try and save him.

‘Been talking to your mother,’ Tyler said, frowning. ‘I don’t remember giving you permission to do that.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Isabel said automatically.

‘Didn’t we agree that we should discuss if and when you spoke to your mother?’

‘I just wanted to talk to her. See if she was OK.’

‘Looks like the conversation degenerated in the usual, predictable way.’

Isabel wiped tears from her eyes as Tyler continued to look back through her phone activity. Although she still felt very angry about the cam girl, she thought perhaps Tyler had a point about privacy. Maybe this was her fault. Perhaps if she’d taken the time to spice things up in the bedroom, or to ask him a bit more about what he was into, she could have met his needs better. But she still hated what he had done, and resolved to confront him again about it. He would have to promise not to do it again.

Tyler threw her phone back. Isabel caught it in a reflex action.

‘Don’t go out without asking next time. And don’t talk to your mother. She just makes you miserable, and she clearly hates me.’

‘Tyler, there’s something we need to talk about…’

‘Later. I need to get back to work.’

Isabel scoffed. ‘Work?’

‘Don’t start. I said we’ll talk later.’

‘Tyler, didn’t you see my conversation with Maud Spinner on the phone?’

Tyler looked confused. ‘You spoke to Maud Spinner? The woman who used to live here? Why?’

‘She left a note, warning us about this house. We need to leave, or we could be killed.’

Tyler stared at Isabel as though she’d gone round the bend. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘I found a note in the basement from her. She said the truth would be revealed in a dream. I then had a really vivid dream, and that same note had different writing on it, which then manifested in real life… It basically said that Maud’s old husband, who used to beat her up I think, is buried in the basement wall. His ghost is going to escape and kill us. I know it sounds crazy, but I got in touch with her over Facebook, and she confirmed she killed him in self-defence, decades ago. She’s also a witch and is using her power to hold him back. But she won’t be able to hold him back forever.’

‘Isabel, you’re not making sense!’

Realising she wasn’t explaining herself well, Isabel got up and strode to the bedroom, removing the note and envelope from her dressing gown.

‘Here’s the note,’ she said, handing it to Tyler, who remained on the landing, utterly bemused.

Tyler examined the note and the envelope, a puzzled expression on his face.

‘I don’t get it. They’re completely blank.’

‘No, they aren’t! Look!’

Tyler handed Isabel the envelope and note back. She examined them. Sure enough both envelope and paper were blank.

‘No, wait… That’s not right… There was writing on these! A warning from Maud Spinner. She did it using her powers.’

‘Isabel, you’re sounding like a crazy woman.’

‘I’m not crazy! Look at this!’

Taking her phone out, Isabel opened Messenger to find the conversation with Maud Spinner. But to her astonishment, the conversation had disappeared. What’s more, Maud Spinner was no longer her friend on Facebook. When she tried to search for her name, Isabel couldn’t even find a Maud Spinner profile.

‘But it was right here… I spoke to her over Messenger less than an hour ago!’

Tyler began to look worried. ‘Isabel, I don’t know what’s going on, but I think you’re having some kind of delusion. You’re imagining things that aren’t real. I know we’ve just moved in here, but trust me, there is no such thing as ghosts, and there is nothing buried in the basement wall.’

‘But I saw the writing on the paper, and I had that conversation…’

‘It’s those damned books you’ve been reading,’ Tyler interrupted. ‘This entire delusion is a product of your over-active imagination. Perhaps I ought to better regulate what you read from now on. You shouldn’t read any more of those horror stories.’

‘Oh, come on Tyler! This has nothing to do with that.’

‘Doesn’t it? Ghosts? Hauntings? I think being shut in during this quarantine is driving you crazy Isabel. I get it. Life isn’t easy at the moment. But please don’t fall apart on me, OK? Life is hard enough.’

Isabel stared at the blank paper in her hand, and at her phone. Was it possible? Had she really imagined the whole thing? If so, what had caused such a staggeringly detailed and convincing delusion? Tears filled her eyes again. Between Tyler slapping her, blaming her for his cam-girl misdemeanour, and now finding she might be going crazy, it was all too much to bear. She sat on the bed, crying.

Tyler sat next to her and put an arm around her. ‘There, there…’

‘I don’t know what’s happening to me!’ Isabel sobbed.

‘Nor do I. But I’m sure we can work through it together. We’ve both had some surprises and shocks today, and perhaps said some hurtful and rash things. It’s more important than ever that we trust each other, and work through our differences, all right?’

Isabel nodded. ‘All right,’ she whispered.

Tyler smiled. ‘How about I make you a nice cup of tea and some lunch?’

The rest of the day passed in a blur of unease for Isabel. Outwardly Tyler was amicable, but their conversation was forced, superficial, and replete with a pseudo-politeness that masked the underlying tensions. For perhaps the first time, Isabel recognised these tensions for what they were. Tyler had gained a control over her that was perhaps as unhealthy as friends and relatives had suggested — before he had attempted to restrict their access to her life, supposedly for her own good. More than that, she had become much more frightened of her boyfriend than she had wanted to admit.

Beyond that, Isabel felt deeply alarmed at what were apparently delusions. Had she really imagined her entire conversation with Maud Spinner? How was it that the piece of paper in the envelope she discovered was now blank? If none of it had been real, then she had a serious problem.

On the other hand, what if the disappearance of the online conversation, and the blank piece of paper, were just further manifestations of Maud Spinner’s power? What if even now Maud attempted to protect Isabel? With the disappearance of this evidence, there was no way Isabel could consider contacting the police, as she had expected Tyler to advise. It was now up to her to decide what to do. Was she still in danger in this house? Or was the danger imagined? Should she stay, or should she flee?

That evening, Tyler insisted on forceful, domineering sex. Isabel felt like she was being punished, and amid the act, began to feel a curious revulsion. This was a man who earlier today saw nothing wrong with engaging with a cam girl on a porn site. This man wasn’t exclusively interested in her at all. He saw her as something he must control, like an oppressed employee in his business. Again, Isabel realised that sooner or later she would have to stand up to Tyler, but she feared his terrible rage. Would she ever summon the required courage?

After finally falling asleep later on, Isabel tossed and turned. Her dreams were uneasy. She heard scraping noises from behind the basement wall, and the sound of crumbling masonry. Every time she woke from the nightmares, she felt an urge to go downstairs and investigate the basement, but for the moment she resisted, cowering beneath her bedsheets, shaking with fear. She considered waking Tyler but dismissed the idea almost immediately. She didn’t want his comfort. Besides, he wouldn’t thank her for waking him at 2am.

Breathing deeply, Isabel tried to calm her mind. It took about an hour, but in the end, she finally managed to fall asleep again. However, she returned to the same dream of something clawing at the bricks from behind the basement wall. In her dream, she slowly crept downstairs and into the kitchen. From behind the door to the basement, she heard the thudding sound of bricks falling to the ground.

Isabel awoke with a start. The clock read 3:12 am. It was hopeless. She couldn’t rest until she’d looked into the basement herself, to make sure the dreams were only dreams.

Compelled but terrified, Isabel got out of bed and put on her dressing gown. She crept out of the bedroom, taking care to avoid excessive noise from turning the handle. The door hinges groaned a little. Isabel froze. Would Tyler stir? He continued to snore, apparently oblivious.

With great care, Isabel stepped out from the bedroom and onto the landing. She still couldn’t entirely avoid creaking floorboards on the landing or stairs, but her knowledge of places to avoid treading had improved.

The night felt unnaturally dark, as though a thick cloud of black had seeped into her house itself, making the air foggy and impenetrable. Isabel breathed slowly, and to her surprise, her breath was visible. Why was it so cold?

Sensing a presence around her, Isabel wondered whether Maud Spinner had once again found ways to manifest her spirit within her old home, perhaps using the astral plane. Or was she sensing something malevolent? Either way, she felt compelled to continue as her heart pounded. The journey down the stairs, through the hall, and into the kitchen seemed to take place in slow motion. Isabel kept pinching herself to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. She pinched harder and harder, digging her nails into her skin, and eventually drawing blood.

Isabel passed through the kitchen and made her way into the corridor with the basement entrance. For a moment she paused, staring at the closed door. Did she really have to do this? She’d not heard any noises since she woke up. Surely it was foolish to go blundering about in the basement at this time of night. Her mental state was unreliable, and perhaps the best thing to do would be to head back upstairs to the bedroom…

A muffled thud broke the silence.

Isabel gasped. There could be no doubt. It came from the basement and sounded exactly as it had in her dreams.

Grasping the cold metal handle, Isabel slowly opened the basement door. The yawning darkness at the foot of the stairs seemed to her like the mouth of a great demon, waiting to swallow her soul. Yet at the same time, she knew couldn’t avoid this. Her descent into the belly of the beast was unavoidable and inevitable.

Isabel switched on the flickering lightbulb, then crept slowly down the stairs. The wooden surfaces felt icy, as though she were entering a meat locker. More than ever she sensed a presence beneath. An angry, malevolent presence. It seemed to press in on her from every side, clouding her vision.

After finally reaching the foot of the stairs, Isabel turned her head in the direction of the wall where she had previously heard the scraping noise. To her horror and dismay, bricks had been dislodged, and now lay in a pile on the floor amid crumbled cement. A gaping black hole had been opened in the centre of the wall.

A thrill of terror shot through every nerve in her body, as Isabel realised her dreams had been real. Yet even this appalling realisation was displaced from the forefront of her mind at the spectacle unfolding before her eyes. A claw-like hand covered in pale, gaunt flesh slowly emerged from the black hole in the wall, feeling its way around the edges, having finally escaped from long incarceration within.

Isabel wanted to scream, but her throat was dry. Something had seized her vocal cords, and she felt like she was being strangled. She remained rooted to the spot, frozen with wide-eyed fear at the vile entity issuing from within the basement wall.

A second hand emerged from the darkness, and both arms pushed at either side of the hole, causing a leering, skull-like face to emerge from the gloom. The eyes seemed to pierce her very soul, and she knew with absolute certainty that the murderous gleam that flickered in those pupils was directed at her.

With a supreme effort, Isabel turned away from the wall… only to be confronted with the angry figure of Tyler in his dressing gown.

‘What the hell are you doing down here?’

‘Tyler, for God’s sake look!’

Isabel gestured in the direction of the emerging figure, but Tyler just looked bemused. ‘Look at what?’

‘It’s coming!’ cried Isabel. ‘It’s going to kill me!’

‘Isabel, there’s nothing there. You’re insane.’

‘It’s right there! It’s going to get me!’

Isabel turned to run back up the stairs, but Tyler seized her arm. ‘Isabel, stop this!’

‘No! Tyler, I’m leaving! Let me go!’

Tyler fixed Isabel with a dangerous glare. ‘You’re not leaving Isabel. That’s crazy.’

‘I am leaving!’ cried Isabel. ‘I’m leaving this house, and I’m leaving you!’

A stinging blow struck her across the cheek. Tyler had slapped her again. ‘That’s enough! Now snap out of it!’

In a split second of fear and fury, Isabel formed her hand into a fist. Instinctively she swung and punched Tyler with a left hook, causing him to stagger backwards.

By now, the horrible, pale, emaciated, naked figure had emerged from the wall and was crawling like a spider on its vile thin limbs, along the wall and onto the ceiling, towards Tyler. Despite her disgust and anger at her boyfriend, Isabel felt a stab of pity, since Tyler apparently could not see the entity approaching him.

‘Tyler!’

As the entity crawled over Tyler’s head, the same murderous gleam that had manifested in the eyes of the pale figure now manifested in his eyes. Wiping the blood from his lip, caused by Isabel’s left hook, he advanced on her with a vengeful fury.

Isabel tried to dodge him, but Tyler was too fast. He seized her arms and threw her to the ground, pinning her down. He then rained down blow after blow, punching and smashing her face. Blinded by a red haze of pain and tears, Isabel’s mind raced. Absolute terror seized her. She would die here and now unless she did something drastic.

Reaching out to her side, her right hand closed around one of the loose bricks that had been pushed out from the wall. She grabbed it then swung it, with as much force as she could possibly summon, against Tyler’s face.

Tyler’s nose smashed in an explosion of blood and bone. He fell backwards onto the ground, releasing Isabel.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Isabel sat up. Before doing anything else, she scanned the basement for the evil being that had emerged from the wall, but it had vanished. She stared at the black hole in the wall. Had it scuttled back inside? Was it hiding somewhere else, lurking in the shadows behind boxes amid the flickering light?

Isabel stood, took several deep breaths, and forced herself to calm down. She then stared down at Tyler’s body. He didn’t stir, and although she hadn’t properly examined his body, she already knew her blow with the brick had been fatal. Her boyfriend was dead.

Strangely, Isabel felt very little remorse. She hadn’t intended to kill him. She had only meant to defend herself. But he would have killed her if she hadn’t acted. The indifference she felt about her deed surprised her.

For several minutes, Isabel stared down at the bloodied mess of Tyler’s body. She would have to decide what to do about this. Perhaps she would bury the body in the wall. Or perhaps she would tell the police. Her actions had been a clear case of self-defence, and she would be exonerated, surely?

A dark smile formed on Isabel’s face. She reached into her dressing gown pocket, and her fingers closed around the envelope and paper that Maud Spinner had left behind.

‘Well Maud, what would you do?’

Author’s Note: Check out my other short stories on Medium here.